The Ultimate Guide to Soft & Fluffy Homemade Vegan Burger Buns
These Vegan Burger Buns are incredibly soft, wonderfully fluffy, and surprisingly easy to make right in your own kitchen! We’ll guide you through every simple step with expert tips, including how to perfectly freeze them so you can enjoy fresh, homemade burger buns whenever the craving strikes. Say goodbye to dry, store-bought buns and hello to the perfect foundation for your favorite burgers!
As a devoted enthusiast of veggie burgers, I understand that crafting the ultimate burger experience goes beyond just the patty. It’s a symphony of flavors and textures, with each component playing a crucial role. Naturally, the journey begins with a perfectly cooked burger – sizzling, juicy, and bursting with flavor. Next come the toppings, which I love to keep classic yet satisfying: crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, a slice of melty vegan cheese, a generous dollop of tangy mustard, and a creamy swirl of homemade vegan mayo (and, for me, always a dash of hot sauce!).
But let’s be honest: even with the most delectable patty and an array of fresh toppings, a burger is only as good as its bun. The bun is the unsung hero, the element that can truly elevate your burger from good to unforgettable, or sadly, make or break the entire meal. Imagine sinking your teeth into a burger cradled by a pillowy soft, subtly buttery, and incredibly fluffy bun – that’s the kind of perfection we’re aiming for today. I’m thrilled to share my absolute favorite vegan burger bun recipe with you, promising a delightful bite every single time.
Why Homemade Vegan Burger Buns Are a Game Changer
There’s a common misconception that baking bread, especially something as specific as burger buns, is daunting. I assure you, it’s not! My journey into bread making, heavily influenced by quarantine baking adventures, prepared me for this very recipe. I’ve made everything from vegan pizza crust to fluffy naan bread, and what I discovered is that the fundamental techniques are remarkably similar. In fact, while developing this recipe, I realized that the initial steps are almost identical to my go-to pizza dough recipe, right up until the point of shaping the buns. Isn’t it truly fascinating how a core skill like bread making can be adapted to create such a diverse range of delicious baked goods?
This recipe builds upon the foundation of my popular no-knead bread recipe, incorporating specific elements to ensure these buns achieve that coveted softness and fluffiness, all while keeping the entire process remarkably straightforward. The beauty of baking your own vegan burger buns lies in the unparalleled freshness and texture you simply can’t find in most supermarket options. You control the ingredients, avoid unwanted preservatives, and get to enjoy that incredible aroma of freshly baked bread filling your home. Plus, these buns are naturally dairy-free and egg-free, making them perfect for those following a vegan diet or managing allergies.
Essential Ingredients for Your Vegan Burger Buns
Creating these divine burger buns requires a few simple, common pantry ingredients. Let’s quickly go over what you’ll need and why each component is important:
- All-Purpose Flour: The base of our buns. While bread flour can be used for a chewier texture, all-purpose flour keeps these buns light and tender. Make sure to have a little extra on hand for kneading.
- Granulated Sugar: This isn’t just for sweetness; sugar feeds the yeast, helping it activate and produce that beautiful rise. You can also use liquid sweeteners like maple syrup or agave.
- Instant Yeast: Our leavening agent. Instant yeast is fantastic because it doesn’t require prior proofing, though checking its freshness is always a good practice.
- Sea Salt: Balances the flavors and helps control yeast activity. Don’t skip it!
- Warm Water: Crucial for activating the yeast. It should be warm to the touch, between 110-120°F (43-49°C). Too hot will kill the yeast, too cold won’t activate it properly.
- Olive Oil: This is a secret weapon for achieving incredible softness and moisture. It acts as a natural dough conditioner, contributing to the buns’ tender crumb and subtle richness. While olive oil is my preference, any neutral-flavored oil will work beautifully.
Expert Tips for Perfectly Soft & Fluffy Vegan Buns
Let’s dive into the essential tips and frequently asked questions that will guarantee your homemade vegan burger buns turn out perfectly every time:
- Double Rise for Ultimate Fluffiness: These burger buns benefit from two distinct rising stages: an initial rise and a second “proof.” These separate rises are key to creating their beautifully rounded shape and incredibly soft texture. Do not skimp on either rising time or skip a stage; each contributes significantly to the ultimate end product. Patience is a virtue in bread making, and it truly pays off here.
- Mastering the Knead: Kneading is absolutely vital for this recipe. It’s what develops the gluten in the flour, which in turn gives the buns their desirable texture, elasticity, and slight chewiness. I highly recommend setting a timer for 8-10 minutes and putting on your favorite music or a short show to make the time fly by. To knead effectively, fold the dough over onto itself, then push it down and away with the heel of your hand, rotating the dough as you go. Repeat this motion, working the dough vigorously. Those ten minutes of dedicated kneading will make all the difference in achieving a smooth, elastic dough that translates into wonderfully light buns.
- Bench Flour is Your Friend: Always keep a small container of extra all-purpose flour (often called “bench flour”) nearby while kneading. Dough consistency can vary slightly based on humidity and flour type. If you live in a humid climate like mine, you might need up to an extra ¼ cup of flour during kneading to prevent stickiness. If your environment is drier, perhaps only 2 tablespoons will suffice. The recipe is robust enough that it will still yield incredible results regardless of these minor adjustments.
- Check Your Yeast: A crucial step often overlooked! Always test your yeast to ensure it’s fresh and active before you begin. Dead yeast means no rise, and unfortunately, flat buns. I have a detailed post on how to ensure your yeast is still good that can guide you through this simple test. It only takes a few minutes but saves you from potential baking disappointment.
- Weigh Your Ingredients for Accuracy: For best results in baking, using a kitchen scale to weigh your ingredients, especially flour, makes a significant difference. It’s much more accurate than volumetric measurements (cups), leading to consistent outcomes. A scale also comes in incredibly handy when dividing the dough, ensuring each bun is uniformly sized for even baking and a professional appearance.
- Don’t Skimp on the Oil: The olive oil in this recipe is not just for flavor; it’s a key ingredient for texture. Think of it as a natural dough conditioner. It contributes immensely to the softness, moistness, and tender crumb of these buns. While olive oil is my preferred choice for its subtle flavor, any neutral oil like canola or sunflower will also work wonders.
Troubleshooting Common Baking Issues
- Dough Not Rising: If your dough isn’t doubling in size, it’s usually due to inactive yeast (see tip above!), water that was too hot or too cold, or a kitchen that’s too chilly. Ensure your water is the correct temperature and find a warm spot for your dough to rise. An “off” oven with the light on can create a perfect warm environment.
- Sticky Dough: This is normal, especially initially. Don’t be afraid to use that bench flour! Add it gradually, just enough to make the dough manageable, but avoid adding too much, as it can make the buns tough.
- Dense Buns: This can be a result of not enough kneading (under-developed gluten) or not allowing adequate rising time. Ensure you follow the kneading and proofing durations closely.
- Uneven Buns: Using a kitchen scale to divide the dough into equal portions before shaping is the best way to achieve uniform buns.
Freezing Your Vegan Burger Buns for Future Enjoyment
One of the best things about making a batch of these delicious vegan burger buns is that they freeze beautifully! This means you can always have fresh, homemade buns on hand. Here’s how to do it:
- Once your buns are fully baked and have cooled completely on a cooling rack, arrange them in a single layer on a baking sheet.
- Place the baking sheet in your freezer and flash freeze them for about an hour. This prevents them from sticking together when stored in a bag.
- After an hour, transfer the now-solid buns into a freezer-safe bag or airtight container. They can be stored for up to 2-3 months.
To thaw and reheat: Simply remove the desired number of buns from the freezer and let them come to room temperature. For the best experience, lightly toast them in your toaster oven, on a stovetop griddle, or even in your air fryer until warmed through and slightly crisp on the edges. They’ll taste just as good as freshly baked!
Recipe Overview: Soft & Fluffy Vegan Burger Buns
Now that you’re equipped with all the essential knowledge, let’s get to the recipe! You’ll be amazed at how simple it is to achieve bakery-quality burger buns right in your own kitchen.
Vegan Burger Buns
Pin Recipe
Leave a Review
Ingredients
- 4 ¾ cups all purpose flour + extra for kneading, (570g)
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, (24g) or liquid such as maple syrup or agave
- 2 ¼ teaspoons instant yeast, (about 1 packet) (7g)
- 2 teaspoons sea salt, (12g)
- 1 ½ cups warm water (not hot – warm to touch) , (354mL) ranging between 110 to 120°F
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, 60mL) or any oil
Vegan Egg Wash
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened vegan milk, (44mL) preferably one with a high protein content
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or agave syrup, (6.75g) use only ½ teaspoon if you don’t want any hint of sweetness on your buns
- 1 teaspoon regular mustard , (5g) or dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon mix of sesame seeds, for topping
Instructions
Burger Buns
- In a large bowl, add the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Whisk the ingredients together.
- Create a well in the centre of the flour. Slowly add the warm water and olive oil to the dry ingredients, and then mix together with a spatula until just incorporated. The dough should look shaggy.
- Flour a clean surface, and then pour/add the dough onto the surface. Flour your hands and fold the dough together. Knead the dough for about 8-10 minutes with your hands and knuckles. The dough might be sticky at first, but you can add up to ¼ cup flour while flouring and kneading to make it easier to manage. You want the end dough ball to be smooth, with slight dimples with a bit of tension formed.
- Lightly grease the ball of dough with some additional oil and place back into the bowl in a ball. Cover the bowl with a plastic wrap or a kitchen towel and let it sit for at least 1 hour on the counter in a warm area. If your kitchen is too cold, you can place it in your OFF oven with the pilot light on which will provide enough residual heat for it to rise. The dough should rise and double in size.
- Punch down the dough and fold over.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal balls and roll each into a ball. Using your fingers, pinch and pull the undersides to shape each ball round. Now would be a great time to check out my highlight on Instagram where I video’d this for clarification! But you essentially want to make them round.
- Line up the balls, about 4 inches apart if you don’t want them to spread into one another/touch, on one or two baking sheets (depending on the size or your baking sheet – you want them decently spread out since they’ll puff up, then spread again while baking).
- Cover with a light kitchen towel and allow the balls to proof/rise for another 45 minutes.
- You can also begin preheating your oven to 400°F/200°C within the last 20 minutes so it’s ready when they’re done rising.
- Using a silicone brush/pastry brush, brush the vegan egg wash over the buns and the sides. Sprinkle some sesame seeds over the top and any other seeds you might desire.
- Bake your buns for 15 minutes in the oven. Remove, and allow to cool on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes, then transfer to your cooling rack. Allow to cool fully. The buns also get much softer once they begin to cool.
- Slice, tear, slather in butter, and enjoy!
Vegan Egg Wash
- Mix the vegan milk, maple syrup/agave and the mustard thoroughly together to combine. If you don’t want any sweetness, you can lower this to ½ teaspoon maple syrup/agave. You don’t have to use all of the vegan egg wash, just as much as you desire for a golden brown top.
Notes
HOW TO FREEZE
Line the buns up on a baking sheet once fully cooked. Place in your freezer and flash freeze for about an hour. Once the hour has passed, you can stack the buns in a freezer safe bag so they won’t stick.
To thaw, bring to room temperature, then lightly toast in your toaster oven, on your stovetop, or in your air fryer.
Expert Tips & FAQ
- Firstly, these buns have a rise, and proof (a second rise essentially). These separate rises actually help to make these pretty foolproof and help create their beautiful rounded shape. You don’t want to skimp on rising time or skip either, because they result in the ultimate end product.
- Always have some bench flour with you in a small container while kneading the dough – which just means extra flour. If you live in a humid climate like me, you may end up needing up to an extra ¼ cup flour while kneading. If not, perhaps only 2 tablespoons extra. The recipe is designed in a way that it’ll still turn out incredible either way.
- Speaking of kneading, kneading here is key. Kneading helps to work the gluten, which is crucial for the texture and pull of these buns. I always set a timer while kneading, and throw on a show so the time goes by faster. To knead, you want to fold the dough over onto itself, then push into a ball. Fold and push. You want to really work at it because those ten minutes of needing will make all the difference.
- Always test that your yeast is still working and fresh! I have a post on how to ensure your yeast is still good to help with that.
- Lastly, use a scale to weigh out your ingredients. It makes such a difference with accuracy and also comes in handy if you want to create equal sized buns.
- I don’t recommend skimping on the oil in this recipe. I like to think of it as the natural dough conditioner, and it helps to yield these incredibly soft buns. My preferred oil of choice here is olive oil, but you can use any other kind.
- For step by step photos of the dough, check out my no knead bread post
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
I hope these comprehensive tips and detailed instructions empower you to create the most incredible vegan burger buns you’ve ever tasted. Once you experience the unparalleled softness and fresh flavor of homemade, you’ll never go back!
Related Vegan Recipes to Complete Your Meal
Looking for more delicious vegan inspiration? Here are some fantastic recipes that pair perfectly with these homemade burger buns, or simply make for a wonderful meal on their own:
- No-Knead Bread: Master another simple bread recipe that’s utterly delicious.
- Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers with Strawberry BBQ Sauce: The perfect flavorful patty to nestle inside these fluffy buns.
- Homemade Vegan Mayo: Creamy, dreamy, and essential for any burger.
